Chic ride.......

Heather came to stay with us to get in some hill training this week because she lives in "flat Florida". So, I rounded up the girls on Friday and planned a little "chic ride". It was Heather, Eve, Annie and myself. Haley was invited but she had to be a responsible student. It was really windy with LOTS of hills. Thanks gals for the fun ride. All these girls inspire me. Heather-pro triathlete, wife, mother of three and multiple Ironman champ.....she's the energizer bunny. Eve-mother of two and wife of an Ironman athlete in addition to a full time job! I don't know how you do it all and still go SO fast?! Annie (ITU Pro), you work harder than anyone I know and I can't wait to see how Boise goes.....your first half (props to you for 5th at Memphis). Coops-bummer you couldn't join us but I admire how hard you're working in school, at work and in your Ironman training....you are one tough cookie. And I know I look under-dressed but I was just fine, these girls had me working hard.


And we're off! Heather is still messing with her bike (it had just been assembled moments before we left).

I just read a post by Bree Wee (I've never met her and she has no idea who I am). But it was a good one. http://breeweehawaii.blogspot.com/ is the link. Anyway, her blog is a great read, she's got an inspiring story. The last post really hit home for me.

I think, so often as female athletes, we're made to feel bad for being competitive. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with wanting to win? Winning obviously has different meanings to different people....my point in this statement is not that everyone shoots to win an entire race but more "winning your race" and what that means to you. I think we all set goals for ourselves whether it be finishing a race and running the whole run (Trish :), beating a time from a previous season, winning an age group or catching up and passing someone you are competitive with. Isn't that why we work so hard? That's why I work so hard.....and I'm not ashamed to say, I work really hard. It is called a "race" after all! We need to stick together, challenge each other, be competitive (& unashamed while doing so), cheer each other on and inspire one another to try hard and give it 100%. I love that I have many strong women in my life (too many to name).....who I learn from every day. Thanks for a great ride girls and for inspiring me to try hard! Thanks to Bree for writing a great post.

note: I added to this post re: the "winning" topic because after reading it again myself, I realized it sounded like I thought everyone was training to win races......and that I was as well. I wanted to clarify what I meant by "winning". We are all driven by something, recognize what that is and use it to help you achieve your goals. Ya gotta want it to get it.